Buttons exist which have LED lamps that flash on and off, or stay on. Many such buttons use LEDs of the type that are of such considerable height that they "puncture" the image and protrude out from the face of the button, thereby illuminating it from the front (in the manner, for example, of a yard light illuminating a lawn). This LED placement obscures a portion of the image. The image on such buttons typically is permanent, i.e. it is glued or otherwise sealed in place. By far the largest market in this field is for round (circular) buttons.
It is desired herein to provide a round novelty button whose image is lighted from behind and whose image is easily replaceable. Such a button may be used over and over to celebrate or advertise different themes or occasions. Thus, for example, a football team could market a single button, together with a plurality of image disks -- each disk representing a different team pairing for the season.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 4,556,932 B. Lehrer et al. Dec. 03, 1985 4,912,608 S. Lee Mar. 27, 1990 4,101,955 R. DuNah Jul. 18, 1978 4,531,310 P. Acson et al. Jul. 30, 1985 4,215,388 R. Reimann Jul. 29, 1980 3,927,375 B. Lanoe et al. Dec. 16, 1975 3,407,523 E. A. Winston Oct. 29, 1968 4,774,642 M. Janko et al. Sep. 27, 1988 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,932 teaches a square battery-powered lighted novelty pin where a permanent design or figure can be silk-screened onto a transparent portion of the face plate. The face plate itself is removable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,608 teaches an illuminated pin over which is attached a separate locket structure. The locket has an internal image that is interchangeable and is held in place by a transparent cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,955 teaches the emplacement of snap-on or stick-on exterior decal designs over the lens of a lighted necklace ornament.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,310 teaches a battery-powered button pin with interchangeable designs that can be placed over a sound synthesizer.
The rest of the patents are representative of what is in the art.